The Book of the Courtier (Classics)
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In The Book of the Courtier (1528), Baldesar Castiglione, a diplomat and Papal Nuncio to Rome, sets out to define the essential virtues for those at Court. In a lively series of imaginary conversations between the real-life courtiers to the Duke of Urbino, his speakers discuss qualities of noble behaviour - chiefly discretion, decorum, nonchalance and gracefulness - as well as wider questions such as the duties of a good government and the true nature of love. Castiglione's narrative power and psychological perception make this guide both an entertaining comedy of manners and a revealing window onto the ideals and preoccupations of the Italian Renaissance at the moment of its greatest splendour.
About the Author
Castiglione was born in 1478 and a member of an ancient aristocratic family. A courtier throughout his life, his writings were always a secondary affair.
George Bull was an author and journlaist who translated six books for the Penguin Classics, including The Prince by Machiavelli. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was made a Knight Commander in 1999.
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First Sentence
I HAVE spent a long time wondering, my dear Alfonso, which of two things was the more difficult for me: either to refuse what you have asked me so often and so insistently, or to do it. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
I HAVE spent a long time wondering, my dear Alfonso, which of two things was the more difficult for me: either to refuse what you have asked me so often and so insistently, or to do it. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There really was a Camelot. But it was in Italy, Urbino in northern Italy to be exact, in the 1500s. Perched on top of a couple of hills in the region Le Marche, Urbino was ruled by the Montefeltro family. From 1444 to 1482 Federigo de Montefeltro skillfully steered his tiny domain through the rough storms of Italian Renaissance realpolitik. Federigo was a successful soldier of fortune yet maintained one of the largest libraries in Italy, spoke Latin, read Aristotle, helped orphans and in general earned the love of his people. He built a beautiful fairy-tale palace and had Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca decorate it.
His less fortunate son Guidobaldo inherited this charming and well-run dukedom. Guidobaldo married the cultivated Elisabetta of the Gonzaga family from Mantua. He was an invalid and not made of his father's stern military stuff. A victim of the brilliant military campaigns of Cesare Borgia that so enchanted Machiavelli, Guidobaldo was temporarily deposed. When the Borgias (Cesare and his father Pope Alexander VI) died, the people of Urbino rose up, drove out Borgia's soldiers and cheered Guidobaldo and Elisabetta upon their return.
For the next few years the court of Elisabetta and Guidobaldo was the most beautiful, enlightened, genteel place on earth. They attracted musicians, scholars and artists. Conversation was honed into a fine art. Into this paradise strode our Lancelot, Baldasare Castiglione, a diplomat descended from minor Italian nobility. He loved Elisabetta, but as far as we know the devotion remained platonic
It is because of Castiglione that we believe we have a sense of what the court of Montefeltro was like, or at least how they would have like to have been remembered. His "The Book of the Courtier" (Il Cortigiano) painstakingly analyzes the attributes of a gentleman through conversations (probably highly idealized) of refined visitors to Urbino.
It's a long, slow, but thoroughly enjoyable book. It is a window into the renaissance mind. It does not describe how the Italians of the sixteenth century were, Machiavelli and Cellini are probably more useful there. But it tells how they wanted to be. The book was read and studied by nobility all over Europe.
It's also how I wanted them to be. Urbino is one of my favorite places. It's a crowded student city now. But on a quiet morning when only a few people are about and the sun has made its way over the hills from the Adriatic, I can imagine that I can see the ghosts of Elisabetta and Guidobaldo walking on the cobbled streets outside their beautiful palace. Fussy, snobbish, yet kind and gentle Castiglione and his wonderful book help make that fantasy more real.
-Bill McGann, author of "The Story of the Tour de France"
His less fortunate son Guidobaldo inherited this charming and well-run dukedom. Guidobaldo married the cultivated Elisabetta of the Gonzaga family from Mantua. He was an invalid and not made of his father's stern military stuff. A victim of the brilliant military campaigns of Cesare Borgia that so enchanted Machiavelli, Guidobaldo was temporarily deposed. When the Borgias (Cesare and his father Pope Alexander VI) died, the people of Urbino rose up, drove out Borgia's soldiers and cheered Guidobaldo and Elisabetta upon their return.
For the next few years the court of Elisabetta and Guidobaldo was the most beautiful, enlightened, genteel place on earth. They attracted musicians, scholars and artists. Conversation was honed into a fine art. Into this paradise strode our Lancelot, Baldasare Castiglione, a diplomat descended from minor Italian nobility. He loved Elisabetta, but as far as we know the devotion remained platonic
It is because of Castiglione that we believe we have a sense of what the court of Montefeltro was like, or at least how they would have like to have been remembered. His "The Book of the Courtier" (Il Cortigiano) painstakingly analyzes the attributes of a gentleman through conversations (probably highly idealized) of refined visitors to Urbino.
It's a long, slow, but thoroughly enjoyable book. It is a window into the renaissance mind. It does not describe how the Italians of the sixteenth century were, Machiavelli and Cellini are probably more useful there. But it tells how they wanted to be. The book was read and studied by nobility all over Europe.
It's also how I wanted them to be. Urbino is one of my favorite places. It's a crowded student city now. But on a quiet morning when only a few people are about and the sun has made its way over the hills from the Adriatic, I can imagine that I can see the ghosts of Elisabetta and Guidobaldo walking on the cobbled streets outside their beautiful palace. Fussy, snobbish, yet kind and gentle Castiglione and his wonderful book help make that fantasy more real.
-Bill McGann, author of "The Story of the Tour de France"
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
One of the `bestsellers' of the European Renaissance, Castiglione depicts, debates and has fun with articulating the virtues of the ideal Renaissance courtier. Engaging, witty, and entertaining, this is set up as a series of discussions set over four evenings at the court of Urbino, with the various characters agreeing, disagreeing and contesting each others' assertions. Everything from the courtier's ability to play tennis (really!) to his love life is up for debate, and this at least purports to give a female as well as male view.
The translation is now an old one, but it is elegant and unobtrusive. The introduction is probably a little slight as are the notes, but this is still a good price for an unexpectedly engaging read.
The translation is now an old one, but it is elegant and unobtrusive. The introduction is probably a little slight as are the notes, but this is still a good price for an unexpectedly engaging read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Castiglione, writing in the 16th century is noted as a renaissance writer, and his role was that of giving advice to the young men of the aristocracy. However, do not expect much similarity to the gems of essential wily wisdom offered by that other 16th century statesman and political scientist, Machiavelli, and do not expect pointed, shrewd and perceptive psychological insights of a similar quality to those that La Rochefoucauld offered the elite aristocrats in the 17th century.
Castiglione however, I found to be interesting for anthropological or sociological reasons. We gain insight into the roles of women, and the assumption that men were innately superior beings - Castiglione teaches that women are inferior, somewhat wretched beings, aspiring for cosmic and heavenly perfection when they form bonds with men - whilst men are corrupted and made imperfect by their bonds with women.
We also learn about men's tastes in art, and fashion - Castiglione chastises a fashion amongst the idle rich of wearing eye liner and plucking their eye brows, and behaving in an effeminate manner, whilst he advises his charge to be manly, taking care of his physical form, that should be as masculine as imposing as possible, yet, graceful and dignified. The young aristocrat should also ensure that he studies painting and classical Greek and Roman literature.
Of interest too, is Castiglione's teachings regarding how the aristocracy should hold on to their power and encourage faithfulness from his peasant class, and in these verses, we also gain insight into what newly emerging concepts of `nation', `patriotism' and `identity' meant in the 16th century - one might speculate that these national identities meant far more to the aristocrats, who had much to gain from such definitions and sense of belonging, whilst to the peasant, these notions probably meant little more than fulfilling the roles of a diligent servant and as cannon fodder in times of war and strife.
Castiglione also gives advice on a number of other topics, such as how to behave in company of ones equals, superiors and inferiors - Castiglione advises respect for the concepts of otherworldliness and detachment displayed by the philosopher and religious figures -- but the young aristocrat should realise these are not at all the correct ways for a worldly man to behave, should he wish to gain respect from fellow aristocrats, statesmen and his servants, the peasant and common man.
Castiglione's book is interesting, but as mentioned before -- do not expect the insights of others 16th century writers such as Machiavelli, whose wisdom we can still apply today to an understanding of realist schools of thought, political science and international relations.
Castiglione however, I found to be interesting for anthropological or sociological reasons. We gain insight into the roles of women, and the assumption that men were innately superior beings - Castiglione teaches that women are inferior, somewhat wretched beings, aspiring for cosmic and heavenly perfection when they form bonds with men - whilst men are corrupted and made imperfect by their bonds with women.
We also learn about men's tastes in art, and fashion - Castiglione chastises a fashion amongst the idle rich of wearing eye liner and plucking their eye brows, and behaving in an effeminate manner, whilst he advises his charge to be manly, taking care of his physical form, that should be as masculine as imposing as possible, yet, graceful and dignified. The young aristocrat should also ensure that he studies painting and classical Greek and Roman literature.
Of interest too, is Castiglione's teachings regarding how the aristocracy should hold on to their power and encourage faithfulness from his peasant class, and in these verses, we also gain insight into what newly emerging concepts of `nation', `patriotism' and `identity' meant in the 16th century - one might speculate that these national identities meant far more to the aristocrats, who had much to gain from such definitions and sense of belonging, whilst to the peasant, these notions probably meant little more than fulfilling the roles of a diligent servant and as cannon fodder in times of war and strife.
Castiglione also gives advice on a number of other topics, such as how to behave in company of ones equals, superiors and inferiors - Castiglione advises respect for the concepts of otherworldliness and detachment displayed by the philosopher and religious figures -- but the young aristocrat should realise these are not at all the correct ways for a worldly man to behave, should he wish to gain respect from fellow aristocrats, statesmen and his servants, the peasant and common man.
Castiglione's book is interesting, but as mentioned before -- do not expect the insights of others 16th century writers such as Machiavelli, whose wisdom we can still apply today to an understanding of realist schools of thought, political science and international relations.
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